Apple patents pico projector accessory for the iPhone and Mac

While the concept of installing projectors into your smartphones isn’t exactly new, it seems that Apple has a patent filed for what appears to be a pico projector. The patent is called “Projected display shared workspaces” and while pico projectors already exist, I guess Apple being Apple decided to do things their way.

It appears that Apple has designed the pico projector to be an accessory that will be able to connect to your iPhone or MacBook, or be integrated into an iPad. The kicker is that not only does the pico projector accessory project images onto a screen/wall, thanks to a built-in camera, the projector will be able to detect multitouch gestures on the projected images themselves! Minority Report anyone?

The patent also suggests that you will be able to create a unified display through the use of multiple screens, or being able to send information from one screen to the other with a flick of a finger. I’m guessing that Apple sees this more for the business/enterprise environment, and given that we carry out smartphones with us wherever we go, sometimes our tablets too, it would be great for impromptu or informal presentations on the spot.

With iWork being available on the iPad it’s not a huge stretch of the imagination to think that not only will we be able to create presentations on the go, but also be able to project them on the spot when we’re done.